Undefeated
by Jonouchi Katsuya
Summary: You can't prevent what others will do to you. You can only survive it. Rated M for language and content that takes a mature mind to understand.


**Warning: This fic deals with the subject matter of a woman's right to choose. This fic is pro-choice. There is also implied non-con. Harsh language against a minority is also used in this fic. If you are too sensitive to handle these topics, please don't read. Contains shoujo-ai and genderbent Ryou.**

**A/N: Takes place in the USA. Didn't use dub names because I prefer using Anzu's name over "Tea". **

Anzu and Ryou waited outside Planned Parenthood inside Anzu's car. Picketers stood on the sidewalk exercising their right to free speech—or, as Anzu liked to call it, their right to be ignorant. Their intense scowls could be felt from the parking lot. Anzu glanced at Ryou, who tried to give her a supportive smile. Ryou lightly graced Anzu's leg with the tips of her fingers. Feeling the softness of her skin wasn't quite enough for her own security, so she gave a gentle squeeze. Anzu displayed no increase in comfort. She just stared blankly out the winshield at a tree directly in her line of vision. Ryou noticed Anzu's grip tightening on the steering wheel.

Fearing she had done too much too soon, Ryou retracted her hand and placed both of her hands between her legs. She tried to focus on a small cluster of pine needles near her shoes that littered the car floor. Ryou knew there was nothing that she could say to her girlfriend to make thingsbetter. Despite knowing that none of this was her fault, she couldn't help but feel regretful and somehow responsible. She held back the tears that started to form in her eyes. She couldn't cry now.

_If I cry, I can't be strong for her._

"I'm not made of porcelain, Ryou," Anzu stated, trying to assure Ryou that she had done nothing wrong.

"I know that..." Ryou muttered, rubbing Anzu's tense shoulder, but not making eye contact.

Anzu huffed and looked up at the sight in the rearview mirror. She never thought she would see even _one_ lady picketing a woman's rights, but there were three of them—along with three men. Probably their husbands, Anzu rolled her eyes. She never could understand why a woman wouldallow herself to be controlled and deluded into denying her own freedoms, but she supposed it couldn't be helped so long as men enjoyed convincing them to do it.

Suddenly, Anzu unbuckled her seatbelt, causing Ryou to jump in surprise, but she soon settled. She pulled down the overhead mirror to make sure her appearance was in order. She didn't want her make-up to be smudged or tacky, or for her hair to be out of place. Not at a time like this—not in front of those people out there. Though it seemed inappropriate to be vain, Anzu knew that if she looked as disheveled as she felt, the picketers would know for sure what she was there for. She couldn't even begin to lie to them without a good mask. She put the mirror back up, took a deep breath, and turned to Ryou.

Anzu's eyes were rimmed red with irritation. The make-up did a spectacular job at covering up the other signs of visible pain. Ryou wasn't sure if she should say anything. If she should tell Anzu she looked pretty, or that she loved her, or…anything. She remained perfectly silent, staring deeply into Anzu's blue eyes.

Only a month ago, everything was normal. They had been running on the track after school. It seemed so silly, but all they were thinking about at the time was how badly they wanted to look amazing at the school formal. Anzu being a dancer made her a logical choice for a workout buddy. And Ryou, who'd become a vegetarian during freshman year, and who had long since given up candy for health reasons, was the perfect choice as a diet coach. It also totally helped that they had all ready been dating for three months when they first decided to help each other. It was a kind of bonding that made them feel closer than they ever had before. Personal image was a very intimate thing to expose to another.

Besides, they wanted to prove to all the jerks around them that their interest in women didn't mean they put no stock in their appearances. They'd had enough of men (and even other women) calling them "manly" or "butch".

After only 6 minutes of running, Ryou Bakura was trailing so far behind Anzu that Anzu was about to lap her. Ryou groaned. She knew she was slow and had bad endurance, but to have her own girlfriend actively do her best to show off was a little annoying. She knew Anzu wasn't trying to hurt her feelings, but she wasn't quite comfortable with their difference in stamina. When Anzu caught up, she hugged Ryou, forcefully stopping her jog.

"I caught you, sweetie," she teased. Ryou rolled her eyes.

"Anzu, would it kill you to at least _pretend_ you aren't a track star? You're making me feel-"

"I'm sorry." Anzu kissed Ryou on the cheek. "Come on. We've only got one more lap!" Anzu patted Ryou on the back and they resumed their running. Anzu maintained more of a jogging pace to avoid leaving Ryou in the dust again.

After her final lap was complete, Ryou collapsed on the nearby grass. She felt lightheaded, and her lungs seemed under attack by shards of ice,despite the fact that she was all icky and sweaty. Ryou looked up at Anzu who was still jogging in place as if she was waiting for the actual workout to start.

"How do you do it?" Ryou asked her, both awed and jealous. She stopped and sat next to Ryou.

"How do you live without chocolate?" She asked in turn, "Or cheeseburgers?" They laughed, Ryou somewhat breathlessly; they had a long way to go, but the support they gave each other was the best possible motivation. All was right in the world. When their laughter died down, Anzu crinkled her nose, then leaned down to meet Ryou's lips; princess kissing breathless princess. They both blushed.

"I love you."

"I love you too!" Ryou proclaimed as she propped herself up on her elbows.

"God, that felt good. We should kiss again," Anzu announced matter-of-factly before she leaned in and kissed Ryou—this time more passionately than the first. It was the first time they had ever kissed in public—or really any time, without looking around for some place where no one would see them. None of that mattered just then. The rest of the world was not at the forefront of their thoughts just now.

"I really need to go home," Ryou weakly insisted between kisses. Anzu deepened their kiss and maintained it before pulling away reluctantly.

"Are you sure? We seem to be having a good time here," Anzu replied with the biggest, most genuine smile on her face.

"Yeah... dad is supposed to come home tonight at some point and he wants to have one of those father daughter dinner things."

"Well, I can't compete with that," Anzu laughed.

Ryou shook her head bashfully. Anzu's shoulders sank as she sighed.

"Do you need me to walk with you, or is it all right if I stay here and continue to work off the candy I snuck?"

"I'm a big girl. No need to worry. Call me tonight? My dad might not come home after all, and I know how you love to sneak out your bedroom window."

"Oh, I _definitely_ will be up for that tonight. Can you imagine my parents knowing about us? I mean, they nearly freaked when I was dating _Yugi_."

Ryou rolled her eyes.

"Maybe when they finally see their daughter as an adult..."

"I know! They just can't let me make any of my own choices! I am _eighteen_ for goodness' sake!"

Ryou picked up her backpack, stood, and slung the satchel over one shoulder.

"Well," Ryou kissed Anzu in farewell, "'Bye! I'm already five minutes late…Dad will probably be an hour late, but still! I have to be the bigger person, I suppose."

Anzu got to her feet and watched Ryou run toward home. When Ryou turned the corner and could no longer be seen, Anzu took a deep breath to ready herself for at least six more laps around the track. In the distance, she saw a group of three boys coming toward the track, presumably to it as she was. She decided to get a head start, and began a full-out run. For Anzu, running was freeing. When she ran, she was running from her parental pressure to be perfect. When she ran, she was running from the people who teased her. She ran from the girl who leaked it to everyone that she was a lesbian. A girl she had thought she could trust. This wasn't just running. This was therapy. The only way she knew how to deal with idiots without tearing their heads off.

"Hey Anzu!" one boy yelled from the bleachers across the track at

Anzu, "You a dyke?" Anzu could hear them laugh. This only triggered her to run the track faster.

"Hey, you're lez, right? Make out with another chick!"

"Are you a lesbian because no guy wanted you?"

Anzu had heard all of these painful remarks before and did her best to ignore them. They wanted to get a rise out of her, and she had no intention to give them that sort of satisfaction. She wanted to punch them in the face. But more than that, she wanted them to learn some manners and just go away.

_Don't react_, she told herself as she kept her feet moving around the track.

"You're so fugly that you turned your ex-boyfriend gay!" One of the creeps shouted as she ran past the bleachers, resulting in some collective try-hard laughter from his compatriots. That tore it. She could handle verbal abuse, but she sure as hell wasn't going to remain silent when they attacked Yugi. She stopped in her tracks.

"Well he always _was_ kinda fruity!" Another one commented. They laughed. They all laughed at his brain-dead, ignorant joke.

"Yugi isn't just fruity. He's a girl."

"And Anzu was the man in the relationship, if you know what I mean."

Anzu turned around and walked toward the three limp-wristed jerk-offs to alert them to the fact that they didn't know what a 'real man' was.

"Excuse me? Who do you think you are, talking like that?"

"Oh? Did I say something that offended you?" The black-haired boy directly in front of her asked in a mocking tone.

Anzu didn't realize it when she was running but she knew this boy. Akira had asked her out to the winter formal during freshman year, but she had all ready been going with Yugi. He was so bitter about it that he hadn't paid attention to the date he _did_ get.

"You and I both know Yugi is a man. And if I were a man, wouldn't that make you a little "fruity", as your friends so eloquently put it?"

They laughed like a pack of hyenas.

"Psh. I said you were manly. Maybe if you went out with a real man like myself, you would be more like a chick."

Anzu rolled her eyes.

"Can you guys just leave if you aren't here to work out? I don't have time for dumb fucks like you."

Anzu turned around and was about to run when Akira grabbed her by the arm. Anzu immediately jerked away, and repeated the action when Akira grabbed at her again; then she suddenly found herself in a struggle for freedom against what seemed like infinite sets of hands.

…..

Ryou remembered Anzu coming to her apartment. She remembered the first thing Anzu asked for was a fresh pair of panties. She remembered how Anzu had pushed her way inside Ryou's house, avoiding eye contact.

Something had happened. Anzu wouldn't tell her what. She sent confusing signals, switching between wanting to be held and not wanting to be touched at all. Two hours passed before a single tear fell. Once one shed, they all started coming down in waves. That was when Ryou realized—or made herself accept—what had happened. No words were needed.

"Anzu..." Ryou had whispered, "You really need to go to the hospital. You need to see a doctor."

"Nothing happened. I'm fine," Anzu had insisted, trying to stifle the tears. She'd seemed almost as if she hadn't really known what she was saying.

Ryou had a fleeting, evil thought. During her freshman year, there had been a few instances when she would consider inviting the spirit that had once possessed her

back into her body. Getting revenge was something she knew the spirit knew how to do. More importantly, the spirit wouldn't get caught. But there would be no guarantee that he would do that for her in the first place, or that he wouldn't just turn around and hurt those she loved all over again. No, she couldn't do that. It wasn't an option. But the thought was there. It was a thought that made her chest burn as she struggled with her morality.

"If you want him to get caught, it's today or never. If you don't want him to do this to someone else-"

"Shut up! Nothing happened..." Anzu stood up. Her face was red. Her crying had made the entire lower half of her face red. "Can't you just hold me? Can't you—I ju-just want to be he-held," Anzu forced the words through her clenching throat.

Against her better judgment, Ryou dropped the issue. She knew there was nothing that could have convinced Anzu to go to the hospital that night. She did as her companion had asked. She held her all night long. Ryou's father never came home that night like he'd promised. He'd been kind enough to call and say he would not be able to make it. It had been the only time Ryou was glad that a promise was broken.

…..

Ryou was amazed at Anzu's strength. How could she be so steadfast? Ryou and Anzu always talked about how their hatred for politicians who denied them the right to make their own decisions. Marriage? Control over their own bodies? Whose right was it but theirs to make those choices? It was all so ridiculous. Times like this... times like this really slapped in their face the lack of true freedom granted them; they thanked the women that came before them in the fight for their rights. Ryou wiped her eyes. She wished she'd demanded that Anzu walk her home that day. If she had done that...

Anzu took a deep breath, breaking her from her thoughts.

"Well, I think I'm ready to face the horde."

The candidness with which Anzu said this took Ryou by surprise. Anzu really was a strong woman—and not some chip-on-the-shoulder, fight-everyone type who faked strength. She was really and truly strong.

"Thanks for coming here with me." She gave Ryou a half smile.

"I could never let you go through this alone," Ryou replied.

"I know you couldn't. I don't think I could have asked for a better girlfriend. You're the best—" she cut off, sounding choked, "We should go."

With that Anzu and Ryou got out of the car, and as the protesters screamed hateful comments from the sidewalk, the girls walked through the door of the clinic with their heads held high.


End file.
